Dr Patrick Howson
(Head of Medicinal Chemistry)
Joined Atuka in 2013. He has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, from the University of Bristol, UK (1999) and subsequently worked in an academic Medicinal Chemistry group. Prior to joining Atuka, Dr Howson was Head of Preclinical Sciences at Phytopharm plc, a UK based pharmaceutical company, and he has over 10 years’ experience of working in drug discovery and development. Dr Howson has been involved in managing projects from early pre-clinical evaluation through to Phase II clinical studies, including clinical studies in Parkinson’s disease. Dr Howson also has experience in the generation and management of intellectual property and is a named inventor on several patents.
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Dr Lakhsmi Kotra
(Scientific Director of Chemistry)
Dr. Kotra is an academic entrepreneur with expertise in drug discovery and development. He is the Director at the Center for Molecular Design and Preformulations (CMDP) , an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the University Health Network.
Dr. Kotra received Doctor of Philosophy in pharmacy from the University of Georgia and postdoctoral training at Wayne State University. Dr. Kotra has published over 100 original research manuscripts and review articles in medicinal chemistry and other fields, filed over 25 patents and delivered more than 100 invited talks around the world. Dr. Kotra is the section editor for Current Medicinal Chemistry journal for infectious diseases and neurodegenerative diseases.